Darcy Burner cleans up

The drudge work of politics involves hours of making phonecalls and stuffing envelopes, which has prompted an outfit called Democrats Work to come up community service schemes that get volunteers out of the office.

U.S. House hopeful Darcy Burner will lead one such effort on Saturday, a cleanup at Flaming Geyser State Park, on the Green River just outside of Auburn.

It just so happens that the cleanup is in a corner of the 8th District where Burner needs to improve her vote total if she hopes to win a November rematch against Republican Rep. Dave Reichert.

“And that’s exactly the point,” said Democrats Work cofounder Thomas Bates, a recovering attorney, explaining that his group hopes to get party workers onto new and unfamiliar turf.

In addition to parks and neighborhood cleanups, Democrats Work has sent volunteers into food banks, sponsored tree plantings, honored veterans, and engaged in school support opportunities. It most recently had volunteers working with farmers to clear flood damage in Lewis County, the most solidly Republican county in Western Washington.

The Green River cleanup will begin at 10 a.m. and last three hours. For more information, go to www.democratswork.org